(first posted 11/30/2012) I see some of you really go for purple-trimmed houses. That reminded me of another colorful car I shot in front of a purple house (also in the Whiteaker, of course) a while back. However, this one is anything but a non-runner. According to the badge on the trunk lid, this a quite rare 1995 Volvo 850 T-5R, one of only 5,500 made during a one-year-only run before morphing into the 850R. The T-5R was developed with the help of Porsche and, with 243 hp on tap, was quite the hot brick in 1995. It looks authentic, except for one possible minor question:

The wheels on this example in the Volvo Museum are rather different. Wikipedia says: “The standard road wheel was the titanium-gray, five-spoke 17×7 “Titan”. Is anybody out there an expert on these?

Realistically, it’s rather unlikely someone would bother to clone a T-5R. This one even has the “Motorsport” emblem just left of the 850 badge. Porsche “co-developed” the specific engine tuning and modifications, the (mandatory) four-speed automatic and other power train components. The 5-TR snapped off sub-six second 0-60 times, helped by a drag coefficient of 0.29. The slipperiest brick ever?

That’s Alcantara trim on the sides of the those famous Volvo seats. The T5-R was advanced in its safety features as well: It was the first production car to be fitted with four airbags.

There were all of 1,975 yellow T-5Rs made for the entire world, and one has found its way to Eugene–and in front of a purple house, no less. And also in front of another Curbside Classic.

50 Comments

There were only about 1,350 T-5Rs imported to the U.S. in 1995, and of that number, just 180 were station wagons.

By ’95, Volvo had sorted out most of the bugs that plagued the earlier 850s. If you’re interested in purchasing a T-5R – or any 850 Turbo, for that matter – be aware that the engines can be known to have head gasket failure, due to the high underhood temperatures and wacky cooling systems. The a/c evaporators also have a high failure rate, so be sure your system works. Also, check to see if all electronic accessories work, as trying to make them right isn’t a cheap proposition.

The standard 5-spoke alloy wheels that came as stock on T-5Rs were called “Titans”. Paul, the example that you spotted has the normal 850 Turbo wheels, or “Columbias.” It also has both of its headlight wipers missing.

I would buy this car and immediately bring it back to perfect, stock condition. Did you find out if it’s for sale?

Back when Lundahl Motors was still in operation, Mike Lundahl called my dad and told them they had gotten in a brand-new T-5R, the first one in the QC. Dad and I came down and we test drove one just like this–yellow color and all. Dad had a 5-speed ’93 850GLT in navy blue with taupe interior at the time, and the T-5R was really, really rough riding in comparison; no sale. It was neat to get to ride in one, though!

I saw a black one in the junkyard a couple years ago, crunched in front. I was going to get the T-5R badge off the back but was a little disillusioned when I saw it was plastic, not metal, so I left it. Probably should have hung on to it!

I actually owned one of these, though it was a facelifted S70AWD, in Desert Wind, a rather rare color. I still see S/V70s and 850s everywhere around here. They are almost as common as A-body Cieras and Centurys.

How did your dad like his ’93 850 GLT? I also had one, only it was an automatic. It used to belong to my mom before she gave it to me when I went to college. It was the car that saved my life in a serious wreck during the winter of 2005. I walked away from the crash without a single scratch or bruise, and that day, I became a firm believer in Volvo safety.

I still own the ’96 850 that replaced my wrecked ’93. It has a mere 92k miles on it – I haven’t even taken it out of the garage at all this year, can you believe that.

He loved that car. Even then, it was hard to find a 5-speed, but Dad always special-ordered his cars. He was waiting for his Porsche 356’s restoration to be completed, and I think he was getting antsy to drive it. I think he wanted a 5-speed car to tide him over!

He replaced it with a ’95 Grand Cherokee Orvis edition, then traded that in on a black on black ’99 V70R wagon. I wish I had bought the R when he traded it in; I could have gotten it. By the time I decided I wanted it, Lundahl’s had sold it–by only a week or two 🙁

Looks like we have a few things in common – my dad also owned a Grand Cherokee, only his was a ’97 Laredo. He always regretted owning it, as he never liked its truck-like ride and gas-guzzling tendencies. It was traded in on an ’03 Volvo XC70, which he still owns and loves – he recently told me that of the many cars he’s owned in his life, the XC is his favorite by far. It’s got 136k miles on it now, and runs better than ever.

Also, just curious – did your parents own any Saabs while you were growing up? My friend’s parents, who lived a few houses down from me when I was growing up, had three consecutive Saab 900s in the late ’80s and early ’90s. We were always giving the mother rides to and from the repair shop. All three 900s ate their trannies for lunch.

Tom Klockau

Posted November 30, 2012 at 8:00 PM

Nope, no Saabs, though there was a Saab dealer across the river in Davenport, at least until about 1999. My folks were friends with the Lundahls, which I’m sure was a factor in all the Volvos we had.

My Mom still has one–an ’07 XC90 V8. It’s black sapphire with the burnt orange leather interior. Sharp and nice driving for an SUV, but I like my V50 better–a lot easier on gas too!

I read that you could bend those rims with your mind they were so fragile. Judging by the condition of the rest of the car I suspect the current owner has no desire to spend the dough required to keep that baby in new shoes.

Exactly right. After the ’95s came out, the car magazine reviews were in that the wheels were quite delicate. When I bought my ’96 850R, the Columbas (as seen on this example) were a no-cost factory option to replace the Volans for people who wanted to worry less about bending their rims.

Haven’t owned an R yet, but it’s on my list. I know there are plenty who shun the front-drivers like the 850, but I’ve had nothing but good luck with them. Perfect compromise between euro sportiness, reliability, easiness to work on, and cheapness to own–if you part shop at the local junkyards. True story about the Volvo seats. The ones in my old Saturn would make my ass fall asleep after a couple of hours of driving, but the Volvo seats on the other hand make my sofa feel like a park bench by comparison in terms of support.

These made quite an impact as they were the car that Volvo really started to (try and) turn their image around. The wagon BTCC racers were another important 850 variant. Also a standard T-5 ran in the 1994 Bathurst 12 hour, finishing 25th.

Impressive find of something so rare. By the mid 90s, area of focus did not include fwd Volvos, and I cannot even say that I knew these existed. Not a fan of the yellow.

I have a friend with a C-70 convertible who has had to replace multiple wheels due to rims getting bent from hitting potholes and such. Perhaps the original wheels were similarly delicate? Or perhaps tires for them were silly expensive (if they were a different size from what is on the car now.)

Thanks Paul – a great find and some Saturday morning nostalgia for me.

’95 was at the tail end of my parents’ Volvo-period: they owned eight over the years, beginning with a metallic green ’78 245 GLE estate bought second hand in the early 80s, ending with a red ’92 240 GL estate bought second hand in ’97 and running the gamut of the smaller 3 and 4 series models in between. the 3 and most of the 4s were bought new, so I have a lot of fond memories of wandering the inside of our local Volvo dealership, poking my nose into the 7s, 9s and 8s I mostly wished they were buying instead (except the for when they were getting the 2nd 480, but that’s another story…)

’95 was also very near the beginning of my own driving career – I turned 17 in ’94 – so I remember being even more than usually interested by these when they were new. A properly fast Volvo was a real eye opener… and they came in yellow!

It’s strange to me seeing one in saloon form – the vast majority of Volvos sold here in the UK have always been estates, and the adverts I saw for the T-5R all featured the wagon in yellow.

I would have loved to have got near one, although with hindsight it’s extremely lucky that my 18-year-old self never got behind the wheel of anything more powerful than his ’89 FIAT Panda 1000 – god knows I got up to enough mischief in a car with only 45bhp, whacking almost another 200 onto that would have been… unwise.

I am the original owner of a Black 1995 Volvo T5R Sedan (With the X in the VIN number). It has about 92,000 Kilometers on it (less than 50,000 miles) The odometer reads in KM but the speedo is a MPH speedo. I ordered it at the Paris auto show in 1994 and picked it up in Brussels in the spring of 95. It has been on the autobahn and easily reached 162 mph. It is equipped with Bilstein struts and shocks, has the IPD stage 3 suspension and is lowered 1 inch. It also has the IPD CPU upgrade program and puts out 285 HP to the front wheels, does 0-60 mph in 5.4 seconds. The front fog lights are PIA projectors, the car has every available option including factory CD changer. The interior is as new, paint is ok with no door dings. Headlights are IPD upgraded units but I have the originals. Brakes are vented and cross drilled with ceramic pads. Exhaust is stainless high flow with a mellow rumble.

The car was featured in a 96 edition of Turbo magazine and I have a copy that will go with the car. It was also featured in the IPD catalog for several years. I plan to sell the car when I return to the USA in November since I have just purchased a new Porsche 911 Turbo S and have no place to keep it. I am asking $29,000 USD. The car is in Oregon.

My dad had a green T-5R wagon which is probably the least known color of the three. It was fun as hell to drive. I miss that car.

Regarding this car, it is either a genuine T-5R or someone has decided to respray another 850 in the T-5R only yellow (some S/V 40’s also came in this color but no other 850’s). Also the seats are T-5R only. The later R’s had the alcantara in other places. So either an exact replica or the real deal. The wheels could be fitted with winter tires and the Titans be saved for summer. Also, the Titans could be sold or stolen; they were and are popular for the 200’s and 7/900’s as well.

The engine upgrade consisted of an overboost function increasing boost for a short period of time rendering maximum power 240 hp – 15 more than the regular T-5 and the T-5R when not in overboost mode.

I was wild about these when they first came out, and I still am today. Easily one of my favorite cars from the 90’s. It was actually the first thing that turned me on to Volvo in general, because prior to the T-5R I only knew Volvo as a company that made station wagons for upper-middle-class housewives. I’m usually a hater of anything yellow that isn’t a taxi, but this particular shade is awesome – and it’s the grey wheels that really set it apart. I can’t remember any other car prior to this that came with dark colored alloys from the factory, that was a very striking feature in the mid-90’s and a look that I’m still very into… I love the simple 5-spoke design as well.

Now even though I love it, and I assume several other CC regulars do as well, it always seemed to me as if the world hated the T-5R and all of it’s successors. Volvo purists hated the 850 all around because it wasn’t RWD, upper-middle-class housewives have no use for such a vehicle and the automotive press’ obnoxious take on the “R”-series cars has always been “nice try but what’s the point when you can have a BMW?” I find that attitude echoed by most enthusiasts as well (American enthusiasts, at least). Obviously these cars have their fans, but the mainstream opinion on them has always been “meh”, “wut???” or “LOL”. Whatever – their status as weird, outsider performance (that-isn’t-as-good-as-an-M3) sedans makes me like them even more.

I’ve always kept my eye open for T-5R’s or 850R’s (which I’d actually prefer, since the T-5R was automatic only in the US) in the classifieds and every time one is available it’s either not the right time for me, or the car is a basket case/priced stupidly. Considering their extreme scarcity, I actually do find them for sale somewhat regularly. I’d settle for an S70 T5/5-speed, but those appear to be even rarer. At this point, I doubt I’ll ever end up owning either of them… although it’s only because I’ve moved on to being fascinated by their replacement, the 2004-2007 Volvo S60R.

For awhile now I’ve had my mind made up that one of those will be the next car I buy. Just waiting for the right one to come along. I’ve never owned a car that new/expensive before, so I’m being extremely picky and specific about it. I like the wagon more in theory and from a practical standpoint, but I’m among the apparently few people who love Volvo’s version of the “Bangle Butt”. Loved it ever since it first debuted on the S80, which I thought was an even better looking car. After that I imagine I’ll be good on turbocharged Swedish cars for awhile, but I’ll always admire these 850’s… and who knows, if one of them came along first I’d be very tempted!

A good friend of mine asked me to sell his 850 T5R wagon. It may be one of a very few in outstanding condition today. It has 59K miles on it and does not have a flaw in it’s original finish. My friend bought it new and remarked it has never been rained on. It is black with black interior. It has the correct wheels and a few performance enhancements including IPD exhaust, IPD computer upgrade (approximately 300 HP), lowered approximately 1″, Brembo front brakes, 6 CD player, polished original rims, car cover and tinted windows. The car was sold new in Santa Barbara and is still here.

Anyone interested in purchasing this car can contact me at (805) 967-0919. I can furnish pics to anyone seriously interested in this rare Volvo.

Sorry about the late post but I had to ask, since ive owned two 95 850’s a 91 740 and currently daily a 98 S70 glt. One of my my old 95’s was a t-5(for 95 hre in Canada they where labelled turbo not t5) supposedly. This car was green and had the seude inserts in the seats and the mototsports badge on the trunk in the same spot as the one pictured above. I would like to know if it was put on the t5 cars as well as the R’s?

If it had the suede in the same spots as above and it had the deep lip on the front spoiler plus the motorsport badge, and if the color you refer to is the dark green, then it seems you have owned a T-5R.
The motorsport badge was not on the T-5’s.

Yes, it is for sale. It is located in Santa Barbara. As stated in my original post it is extremely nice and original except for a few performance enhancements. Those enhancements don’t affect the driveability other than more performance, but it is still very roadable and dependable. Do you live close enough to come and see the car?

The wagon form of these cars is incredibly versatile. 30 mpg on a flat highway at 55. Seats 7 with the tailgunner seat. Carries two 10′ longboards (and two surfers), or two twin bed mattresses with the hatch shut. Visibility of an F-16. Safe as a Volvo. Practical as a Swede. And fast. Contemporary ads showed peeks of an indeterminate model 850 Turbo besting a BMW 3-series in some SCCA tests, closing with a full-frame shot of the longroof just as the incredulous narrator intones “The ultimate driving machine beaten by… a station wagon?” With a few underhood and suspension ipd “safety and efficiency” improvements it’s even faster, but it still doesn’t say “race car” to anyone but a Volvo person. I bought an 850R new in ’96 (green, with the birch and tan interior) and cannot imagine replacing it.

I (orginal owner) have a yellow 1995 T5R with 22,000 milies on it. Live in NY, NY so issue with tires exploding. So moved the car to summer house in NJ and enjoy driving it a few months of the year. Nothing makes me happier every spring than stepping on the pedal and taking off like a rocket ship!

I am looking to purchase a 1995 Volvo 850 T-5R Turbo preferrably Yellow. My girl had rebuilt one from the bottom up with her own two hands just a few short years ago. It was stolen from her by her then girlfriend & only god knows what the chick did with it. My girl has been unable to locate it. She won her case in court for a settlement amount but no car since the car is MIA. I would love to be able to bring back into her life the one accomplishment she took so much pride in. Any assistance will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

The “R” wheels bent easily and the dealer would replace them with normal 850 Turbo wheels if the customer complained. You could get the “Bright” finish like those in the picture or a gunmetal finish that resembled the original wheels.

One of my favorite 90’s cars, especially in wagon form. But even in sedan form, a favorite–love any “super sedan” that isn’t an AMG or //M. (Like those too but they’re more common). There was a student at the university I worked at who had one several years back, and it looked to be an authentic R – yellow sedan like this example with the correct gunmetal rims. However, it wasn’t very well kept, and the driver looked like a sorority girl, not likely to be a gearhead (yeah, it’s a stereotype, if any sorority girls who are into cars pop up to challenge my assumption I’ll recant…) It was a rather odd picture.